Snow geese blast off. After resting and preening on water, snow geese are startled by a coyote, hawk or just wind and take off en masse by the thousands. As many as 50,000 snow geese are found at Bosque del Apache NWR at times, stopping at the refuge during their winter migration along the Rio Grande River.
Species: Snow goose, Chen caerulescens
Location: Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro, New Mexico
Image ID: 21817
Snow geese at sunrise. Thousands of wintering snow geese take to the sky in predawn light in Bosque del Apache's famous "blast off". The flock can be as large as 20,000 geese or more. Long time exposure creates blurring among the geese.
Species: Snow goose, Chen caerulescens
Location: Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro, New Mexico
Image ID: 21827